Bafana boss Hugo Broos has warned his players not to underestimate any team heading into the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
South Africa are in Group E at the biennial competition where they will face Mali, Namibia and Tunisia.
They get their competition underway against Mali at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium on Tuesday.
Broos’ charges prepared for the tournament with a goalless draw with Lesotho but will need a far-improved performance next week if they are to secure any kind of result, as Mali stormed to a 6-2 friendly victory over Guinea-Bissau.
Broos, who previously won the competition with Cameroon in 2017, said in the Citizen: “The players have to be aware this is a tough tournament.
“Even the guys from Sundowns, you can’t compare that to the games at an AFCON.
“You have the best players (at an AFCON finals). When you play in the Champions League it is always (only) against African players playing in local competitions.
“Against Mali we will be playing (against) guys from Europe.
“Secondly, all the teams at the AFCON are 500 per cent motivated. It is like they play for their lives in every game, these are intense games. It was a big surprise when we (Cameroon) played our first games (in 2017) against Burkina Faso and Guinea-Bissau.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was so intense. That is the experience that I can give my players, so that they know on Tuesday what is coming.”